


If the Trellis Holds

by radiantdean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, abusive!John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 10:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4703417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantdean/pseuds/radiantdean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fulfilled tumblr prompts</p>
            </blockquote>





	If the Trellis Holds

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you're interested, my tumblr is radiantdean (:

A crash by the foot of his bed woke Cas in the middle of the night. The first thing he did was sit bolt upright, eyes wide open as he tried to see anything through the darkness. He could just make out the silhouette of someone getting to their feet, brushing themselves off as they stood.

“Hey, Cas,” the figure said, its voice low and husky.

Cas groaned, reaching for the bedside table and lighting up the screen of his cell phone. It read “2:34 AM.”

“Dean, what the hell are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“I, uh, wanted to see if the trellis would still hold my weight.”

Cas sighed and sat up again, hunching forward slightly as he tried to keep himself warm. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that Dean was now sitting on his mattress, facing Cas, his legs curled beneath him, just like when they were kids.

“You haven’t climbed that old thing in almost six years,” Cas said quietly. And just like that, something clicked. Dean usually showed up like this only if something was bothering him.

Dean looked down at his hands, which were clasped together in his lap, and Cas was sure his assumption was correct.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, leaning forward slightly.

“I… No, I’m not alright, Cas,” Dean responded. 

“What happened?”

“I can’t live with my dad anymore, I just can’t do it. He… He shouldn’t get to treat me the way he does.”

Cas could feel his eyes widen slightly. He and Dean had talked about almost everything. The subject of John Winchester, however, had been strictly off limits. Until now.

Dean took a deep breath, finally raising his head so his eyes were level with Cas’s face.

“He got drunk tonight, Cas. Which I’ll admit, isn’t unusual. But it was worse tonight. He came home and immediately went for me, shouting, calling me useless, calling me a failure. And… And as much as I hate it, it’s even worse that he does it in front of Sammy.”

Cas tilted his head slightly and sighed. He untangled his arms from the blanket that was draped over his lap and reached out, taking Dean’s face in his hands.

“You’re not a failure, you know,” Cas murmured. There was just enough moonlight filtering through the window that Dean’s eyes shined, just so Cas could make out that startling green. “You are anything but a failure.”

“But, Cas–“

“No,” Cas said firmly. “No, I don’t care what he says. He’s wrong. He was drunk of out his mind, and he’s wrong. You are not useless, you are not a failure. He might not be able to see it, but I can. Sam can. His words mean nothing.”

Dean sat in silence for awhile before responding. “What about his fist?” he said quietly. “Does his fist mean anything?”

Cas sucked in a breath, running his thumbs over Dean’s cheekbones. He could just feel a slight swelling under Dean’s right eye, something he hadn’t noticed before.

“Oh, God, Dean,” he said. “Has this happened before?”

“Not like this,” Dean said with a slight shake of his head. “He has never outright hit me. Until tonight.”

Cas sighed. “Just leave, Dean,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to be around him.”

“I can’t leave Sammy in that house, Cas. Not alone with him.”

Cas nodded in understanding, though he was sure Dean probably couldn’t see him.

“I mean, I did provoke him,” Dean muttered after a bout of silence.

“No,” Cas said. “I don’t care what you did. A parent should never hit their child. This wasn’t your fault. This has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with him.”

Cas had barely finished talking when Dean leaned forward, closing the rest of the distance between them, and pressed their lips together. Cas stiffened slightly before relaxing into the kiss, his hands moving down to grip Dean’s neck.

After a couple of seconds, Dean pulled back, but he didn’t go very far. He closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against Cas’s.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “For being here. For everything.”

“There’s no other place I’d rather be,” Cas replied.

Much to Cas’s delight, Dean didn’t go back home that night.


End file.
